Slow-growing broadly-conical tree to 15 m or more tall but grown mostly for the colour and habit cultivars. Trunk buttressed at the base on old specimens but rarely reaching large dimensions in cultivation. Bark soft and stringy. Young shoots orange-brown. Branches spreading. Branchlets drooping at the tips, the sprays flattened, divided 3 times. Leaves blunt with a stubby appearance, shiny green, mostly without glands, the lateral pair much larger and joining below the facial pair. There are distinct white `x' or `y' markings of wax on the lower surface where the leaves overlap. Male cones terminal on short shoots, Sept. Female cones blue-grey turning to bright green then brown, stalked, 5-15 mm wide with 7-8 or occasionally to 10 scales. Seeds winged, 2-5 on each scale.
The National Herbarium of Victoria holds a range of cultivars collected at Nobelius Nursery, Emerald, in 1943 and Hodgins Nursey, Essendon, in 1942.
Sacred to the Shinto religion.
C & S Japan.
The pale wood is aromatic, durable, easily worked and valuable both for construction and ornament.
Foliage sweet-smelling when crushed; lateral leaves much larger than facial ones, all leaves blunt and stubby with white `X' or `Y' markings below, the gland on the back of leaves is mostly absent or indistinct; cones relatively large although size variable; cf. C. lawsoniana.
Johnson (1990).
NSW: Mt Tomah (Bot. Gds, Brunet Garden). VIC: Emerald (Old Nobelius Nursery Site, Lake c. 20 m tall); Maroondah Dam (several on slopes); Mt. Macedon ('Alton', old Taylor &Sangster Nsy site).
var. formosana (Hayata) Rehder. Large tree, leaves dark green with white markings below, cones large 10-11mm wide. Grows naturally in montane Taiwan at alt. c. 1500-2000 m.
LOW-GROWING OR DWARF TO MEDIUM, COMPACT, CONICAL, LEAVES GREEN
LOW-GROWING, DWARF TO MEDIUM, COMPACT, CONICAL, LEAVES YELLOW
LOW-GROWING OR DWARF, COMPACT, CONICAL, LEAVES WHITE VARIEGATED
LOW-GROWING OR DWARF, COMPACT, CONICAL, BRANCHES THIN &MORE OR LESS CONTORTED
DWARF, GLOBOSE
DWARF, FLAT &WIDE
BRANCHES FERNY OR CORAL-LIKE
Source: (1995). Cupressaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 1, Ferns, conifers & their allies. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Albovariegata'
Slow-growing, open, white variegated foliage. Origin unknown but introduced late nineteenth century.
Like 'Juniperoides' but taller, with ascending branches and dark green foliage. W.H. Rogers & Son, Red Lodge Nsy Eastleigh, UK before 1914.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Caespitosa'
Extremely small, dense, sprays. Leaves blue-green, densely packed. W.H. Rogers & Son, Red Lodge Nsy Eastleigh, UK about 1910.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Chabo-yadori'
Dwarf, dense bush with pale green juvenile foliage, the adult leaves occasionally appearing at the tips of the branchlets. Sometimes confused with 'Ericoides'. Japan.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Compacta'
Broad with spreading branches and elongated branchlets. An old cultivar. Origin unknown.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Confucious'
Like 'Nana Aurea' but faster growing, taller and with more open, fan-like foliage sprays; foliage golden overlaid emerald. Grows about 1.5 m in 10 years. A sport of 'Nana Aurea' discovered at Duncan and Davies Nursery, New Zealand.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Contorta'
Slow-growing, conical, to about 1.5 m tall. Foliage dense and contorted, leaves dark green, becoming bronze in winter. Raised from seed of 'Nana Gracilis' by h. den Ouden, Boskoop, Netherlands, 1945.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Coralliformis'
Dwarf, round, compressed, branches slender and contorted, sprays coral-like, leaves blue-green, flecked, shiny. Origin Germany.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Crippsii'
Conical, to 5 m or more tall, branches widespread, sprays yellow, drooping at the tips. A widely-grown golden cultivar. T. Cripps & Sons, Tunbridge Wells, UK c. 1890.
Vic: Dandenongs ('Pirianda'); Daylesford (Bot. Gds).
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Douglas'
('Douglasii'). Habit mushroom-like with penduous branch tips; foliage bright gold. Introduced by Graham and Doren Catt, Catts Nursery, Sydney before 1970 as a sport of 'Nana Aurea' and sometimes known under the mistaken names 'Watchit' and 'Watchii' (a message written on a label and used as a name in Victoria) and illegitimate name 'Douglasii' (in New South Wales). The name commemorates Douglas Catt.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold'
Similar to 'Tetragona Aurea' but branching more open, horizontal and arching. Duncan &Davies, New Plymouth, New Zealand c. 1970.. 'Fern Gold' is a dwarf sport of 'Fernspray Gold' with mostly mature foliage.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Flabelliformis'
Dwarf, globose to globose pointed, slow-growing, rarely more than 15-20 cm tall, sprays fan-shaped, leaves pale green to waxy blue. G. Gardner about 1910 but introduced W.H. Rogers & Son, Red Lodge Nsy Eastleigh, UK in the 1930s.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Golden Fern'
('Fern Gold'). Foliage juvenile, golden, reverting to adult foliage. Discovered as a sport on 'Fernspray Gold' by John Emery, Drue Nursery, Berry, Australia and introduced c. 1982.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Gracilis Aurea'
Conical, branches widespreading, sprays slightly drooping at the tips, leaves yellowish, with whiter markings beneath. J. Veitch &Son, Coombewood, uk, 1870s.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Graciosa'
Dense and conical to 3 m tall with rich foliage; like 'Nana Gracilis' but with brighter foliage. L. Konijn &Co., Reewijk near Boskoop, Netherlands c. 1935.
Dwarf, compact, broadly conical, branches contorted, leaves green. W. Hage &Co., Boskoop, Netherlands c. 1928.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Intermedia'
The name refers to the intermediate appearance of this plant between the minute 'Caespitosa' and the more open 'Juniperoides'. W.h. Rogers &Son, Red Lodge Nsy Eastleigh, uk before 1915 as a seedling of 'Nana Gracilis'.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Juniperoides'
Extremely slow-growing, small and compact, taking many years to become 15 cm tall. Leaf sprays dark green and arching down at the tips. W.h. Rogers &Son, Red Lodge Nsy, Eastleigh, uk c. 1915.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Kosteri'
('Nana Kosteri' an untraced cultivar name, is occasionally offered in the trade). Leaves produced in flattened, slightly twisted horizontal sprays. Generally low growing but may be trained vertically. M. Koster &Son, Boskoop, Netherlands c. 1915.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Lycopodioides Aurea'
Similar to 'Lycopodioides' but slower growing and with yellow new growth. Introduced from Yokohama by j. Boehmer into Germany c. 1890.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Lycopodioides'
Globose to tall open shrub, branchlets curiously thickened and branching in all directions, leaves dark green, irregular and densely distributed. Introduced from Japan to Leiden by p.f. von Siebold.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Mariesii'
Medium sized, conical, foliage slender and open, leaves creamy in summer, yellow in winter. An old cultivar originating in the uk although several clones may be in cultivation.
Extremely small, compact cushion of foliage, the individual branches square in section. Possibly the smallest and most slow growing of the miniatures. Origin and introduction w.h. Rogers, Red Lodge Nsy, Chanders Ford, Hants, uk.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Aurea'
Sprays rich yellow on outside of bush. Faster growing than 'Nana'. Introduced from Japan by j.g. Veitch, London, uk.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis'
Fairly quick-growing to 2-3m tall with dark green leaves and spreading, often twisted branches. There is an excellent specimen at 'Beechwood', Stirling, South Australia. 'Nana Gracilis Aurea' is an untraced cultivar name.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Lutea'
Golden foliaged sport of 'Nana Gracilis', small bush with golden yellow sprays. J. Spek, Boskoop, Netherlands.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Pyramidalis'
Dwarf, compact, pyramidal. Leaves dark green. Raised from seed about 1905 &released h. den Ouden &Son, Boskoop, Netherlands c. 1934.
Extremely slow-growing cultivar mostly replaced by more vigorous variants. Introduced to West from Japan by von Siebold c.1860-1862.
Dense, flattened bush with foliage in flattened dark greenish blue tiers in small fan-shaped sprays that are waxy white below. Introduced from Japan to Europe by Siebold in the early 1860s.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Pygmaea Aurescens'
As 'Pygmaea' but with srong horizontal shoots and brownish foliage that becomes bronzish in autumn. Sport of 'Pygmaea' in a nursery of k. Wezelenburg, Hazerswoude near Boskoop, Netherlands.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Pygmaea'
Fans of green foliage held on conspicuous red-brown stems. Introduced to uk by r. Fortune from Japanese gardens in 1861.
Dwarf' Starting small and compact may become upright and open with straggling shoots. J. Reis, Long Is, New York, usa.
Prostrate, foliage green; like 'Pygmaea' but foliage not browning. Sport of 'Nana Gracilis' W. Hage & Co. Nsy, Boskoop, Netherlands, introduced 1929.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Snowflake'
Sport of 'Chabo Yadori' with flecks of white in the foliage. Discovered John Emery, Drue Nsy, Berry, New South Wales and introduced c. 1982.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Sparkles'
('Pygmaea Variegata'). Foliage variegated gold and green. Discovered as a small yellow spot on 'Pygmaea' selected by Ron Radford of Tasmania and introduced c. 1990.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Spiralis'
Stiff, upright, the sprays cupped and twisted. W.H. Rogers & Son, Red Lodge Nsy, Eastleigh, UK about 1930.
Squat, dense, compact; foliage dark green. Discovered as a seedling of 'Nana Gracilis' by Ron Radford of Cedar Lodge Nursery, Tasmania.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Templehof'
Strong-growing compact pyramidal to medium-size bush with fan-shaped pale green sprays that may become brownish in winter. L. Konijn &Co., Templehof Nsy near Boskoop, Netherlands as a chance seedling c. 1964.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Tetragona Aurea'
Branches open, ascending, golden yellow in the open but may revert to a pale green, especially in shade. Branching irregular, branchlets 3-sides or 4-sided in section. Introduced to uk from Japan in 1871.
A sport of 'Nana Gracilis' with the same habit and dark green coloration of foliage but variegated in a similar way to 'Albovariegata'. W. Hage &Co., Boskoop, Netherlands, 1928.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Tsatsumi'
Like 'Coralliformis' but with more open branching and the branchlets all slender and hardly twisting. Elm City Nsy, New Haven, usa in 1910s.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Watchit'
('Watchii') See 'Douglas'.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Youngii'
Broadly conical with pale butter-yellow, plumose foliage finer than that of 'Crippsii'. There are fine specimens at 'Beechwood', Stirling, South Australia. M. Young, Milford, Surrey, uk.